Deck Scrubbers

[Daydream believer]

I have the usual standard stiff deck scrubber on a pole.
It does not really do a good job & I wondered if there is a better option
Anyone got a softer brush & is it better?
I have a typical GRP deck with diamond pattern non slip.
Products such as Muckoff do not really work that well either. I seem to do better with fairy Liquid

 

[pvb]

For diamond pattern GRP, the easiest solution is a small pressure washer.

 

[sailorman]

I have the usual standard stiff deck scrubber on a pole.
It does not really do a good job & I wondered if there is a better option
Anyone got a softer brush & is it better?
I have a typical GRP deck with diamond pattern non slip.
Products such as Muckoff do not really work that well either. I seem to do better with fairy Liquid

try it with Jif

 

[richardbrennan]

I cannot remember the make off the top of my head, but I have one of those scrubbers with a telescopic pole and interchangeable heads that are common in most chandlers. I made the mistake of getting the stiff deck brush to start with and got poor results, but changing to the medium head gave a marked improvement. I also find the extra soft head excellent for washing down the hull. As far as a cleaner is concerned; I find the Starbrite non slip deck cleaner gives excellent results and it is non abrasive.

 

[JumbleDuck]

I have the usual standard stiff deck scrubber on a pole.
It does not really do a good job & I wondered if there is a better option
Anyone got a softer brush & is it better?
I have a typical GRP deck with diamond pattern non slip.

I have a moulded in basket weave pattern. the stiff brush on a pole works fine, if slowly, as long as you use it carefully along both the warp and weft directions, if you see what I mean. My pressure washer works very well but is less practical on swinging mooring. For spot cleaning I use a nail brush.

 

[yotter]

I agree with Richard about the Starbright non slip deck cleaner, it is very effective.
Angus

 

[sailorman]

I have a moulded in basket weave pattern. the stiff brush on a pole works fine, if slowly, as long as you use it carefully along both the warp and weft directions, if you see what I mean. My pressure washer works very well but is less practical on swinging mooring. For spot cleaning I use a nail brush.

A p[ressure washer is liable to open any gelcoat voids / bubbles

 

[pvb]

A p[ressure washer is liable to open any gelcoat voids / bubbles

In the unlikely event that they're there, they'd open up anyway sooner or later.

 

[bitbaltic]

I agree with Richard about the Starbright non slip deck cleaner, it is very effective.
Angus

Another vote for the Starbrite non-slip deck cleaner. Applied with a common or garden floor brush purchased from the Tescos homeware emporium for a couple of quid. Works fine. Like the OP I also have a typical moulded non-slip pattern.

I used a pressure washer once and got a window leak. I stopped doing that.

 

[Pete7]

This season I have gone back to using Traffic Film Remover (TFR) available from motor factors and cheap as chips. It's what the truckers use. and works well. Neat for stubborn marks.

Pete

 

[JumbleDuck]

A p[ressure washer is liable to open any gelcoat voids / bubbles

One has a boat made by Northshore Mouldings. One's gelcoat does not have voids or bubbles. Sniff.

Though actually I normally only use the pressure washer to get winter gunge - leaves and the like - off her in the spring because it always seems to leave any gel coat looking a bit dull.

 

[ip485]

Having been a long time fan of pressure washers and gif type cleaners my issue is having spent hours waxing the gel i realise what a good job both do removing the wax. A good car wash does seem a lot more gentle, if only because once the wax is gone everything sticks anyway.

 

[Poecheng]

Fellow sailor walked past our boat in mid hols: "Bloody hell, where've you been?" which was fairynuff as the bows area (topside and deck) were covered in cack from filthy (bouy) mooring lines picked up the night before. Even I thought we looked like we had bumped into a farmyard.

Got a bit of water on, sprayed Muckoff on it all, give it a bit of an agitation (Swobbit medium brush) and then, five mins later washed it off. Very successful and same on other occasions with birdshit. IMHO a good product, easy to use and reasonable price.

Swobbit brushes: These are the telescopic poles with interchangeable heads. The pole has a ridge moulded in so it cannot rotate around the male pole - the button and the holes always line up and it should add a bit of strenght. I started with a telescopic pole, a boathook and a brush. In idle moment or two earlier in the year I bought another two brushes so I had stiff, medium and soft. I also had an adjustable angle piece.
Problem 1: the boathook attachment has welded itself onto the pole and will not come off with hot water, WD40 anything. The bastard is just stuck on (see previous thread) as the seawater has dried and a new telescopic pole had to be bought (rather defeating the purpose)
Problem 2: On shiny new telescopic pole I fitted the angle head and the stiff brush to get under the waterline and clean the hull. Within a couple of strokes the bloody thing broke and floated away. Head was rescued and revealed that the plastic head on the "angle head" had split at the rivets where it attaches to the pole. THey were only on one side of the tube and not passing through - totally weak design. Luckily I am very good friends with Eversons (where I was trying to scrub) and it was taken to the workshop, drilled through, jubillee clip added to clamp down the plastic and also drilled for a bolt and then a couple of bolts with nyloc nuts passed through the whole. Now it is very strong and a happy scrubber !
So Swobbit bushes are very good, it is just getting them on and keeping them on the pole that is less easy !

 

[Allergy]

I was hoping that we might get one of Lakeys lady friends posing with just a scrubbing brush.

 

[emsworthy]

I was hoping that we might get one of Lakeys lady friends posing with just a scrubbing brush.

It's the only reason I clicked on the thread!!